Can't think of anything but those DONUTS!

Good evening!  It's Sunday night, and everything is alright.  I just came from a  friend's baby shower, and once again, I feel like Brooklyn and Bedford Stuyvesant are home to some of the most genuine and welcoming people on earth.  I don't think that is an overstatement either.  And it was great to celebrate a new neighbor :)

On the food front, the New York Times cited Dough as one of a crop of new donut shops around the city.  The pictures in this article make me drool, and the little one looked over my shoulder as I read and said "yummy in my tummy!"- her idea of a ringing endorsement.   They have NUTELLA-FILLED DONUTS!  If you look at the banner on my blog, you will see that my blog is supposed to be about parenting, food and community engagement.  The idea was to take the little one, and get a read on which restaraunts in the neighborhood are kid-friendly AND have great food.  The weather has severely cramped my ability to get out with the little one and start this portion of the blog.  But starting next week, I will start my kid-reviews of the local eateries.  If there are particular restaurants that you would like to know about, please let me know in the comments. 

Sung Bin Park over at Bed Stuy Patch has a great article on the search for daycare.  Ms. Park discusses her process for finding daycare for her child.  She says that although she did a lot of research, her best information came from having conversations with parents at the playground. Could we have a virtual playground here, and chat about Bed Stuy's great daycare options?  Where does your child spend most of his/her day?  How did you come to make those arrangements? 


In other news, I was sad to hear that one of our longest shop owners is calling it quits.  Joe Long, owner of Birdel's Records closed his doors on Friday, according to the New York Times.  Birdel's Records was one of a dwindling number of vinyl record stores in New York City, and had been in operation since 1944.  I wish we could landmark businesses.    Are there any long-closed Bedford Stuyvesant stores that you wish could have been frozen in time?

Finally, let's get interactive people.  I started this blog to spark conversations, and to provide a forum for Bed Stuy parents/residents to share their thoughts.  That is why at the end of each little paragraph, I have asked for your thoughts- give'm to me!

People to see, places to go, not enough time!

It's been more than a week since my last post, and I have a lot to write about.  Ideally I would have updated my blog at least twice since last Tuesday- but life has a way of intervening to screw up your plans.  Suffice it to say, the working part of the working mom was extremely busy last week.  And at the end of the week, I had to say enough, and retreat.  More on that later.

Last Wednesday, there was a jam-packed Landmark Preservation Commission meeting at Restoration Plaza, with over 400 residents showing interest in the process for landmarking Bed Stuy.  In what may have been the biggest shocker to me, this meeting was just the beginning of an extremely long and involved process for three out of the four proposed landmark districts.  In order to landmark a neighborhood, the LMC needs to at minimum gauge the support of the community for the effort and create a report on the historical features and significance of the proposed area.  Seems simple, but both of these activities take a long time.  The LMC gauges community support by working with the local community board, and holding several meetings with the residents whose homes will be affected by the landmarking.  More surprising to me was the length of time it will take to create the report that will provide the basis for the LMC's final decision.  Prior to the LMC vote, LMC staff photograph and create a narrative for each building within the proposed district.  And Bed Stuy has a whopping 8,000 buildings that are potentially part of the proposed districts.  Check out this map of the four proposed areas. When a resident asked the LMC Executive Director Kate Daly how long it may take for Bedford Corners, Stuyvesant East, and Stuyvesant North to become landmarked, she replied, "under 60 years", with a smile and then an explanation of the workload associated with cataloguing the buildings of Bed Stuy.  The Stuyvesant Heights extension had already been "calendared" by the LMC, and if all goes according to plan, this district will be landmarked in the next year.  So, clearly Bed Stuy residents will be discussing landmarking for quite a while.  For a complete rundown of the meeting particulars, check out this article in Bed Stuy Patch.

I am really glad that I attended the meeting.  But because we needed some unforseen house repairs done, and the husband began a job with crazy hours, and because the little one (being advanced) has hit the terrible twos hard -  I really couldn't afford to take the time and I ended up playing catch up all week.  But as it so often happens when you have a family and a job and personal interests, this is not the exception, its the rule.  What has really been bugging me lately about this negotiation of time between family, job, and personal interests is that you cannot forsee from week to week how the different portions of your life will interact with each other.  You can be the most organized person in the world, and still not be able to do everything you need to do each week--forget what you want to do. By the way, full disclosure- I am far from the most organized person in the world, so you can imagine how messy my life can get.   I try to mentally give myself a pass on certain things that don't get done on weeks like these.  But the compromising sucks.  How do you all deal with it?  I will tell you what I did- I ran home to my mommy :) and took a break.  I am the luckiest girl in the world to be able to live in Bed Stuy, and have family to visit in rural Virginia.

Finally, some good news to report on the playgroup front.  Thanks to a reader/member of the Stuyvesant Heights Parents Group on Yahoo, it looks like we might be able to have a play group meet at La Table Exquise on Saturday mornings.  I have an appointment to talk with Chef Sebastien tomorrow to talk through the logistics.  I will post the details later this week.

Landmarking = Community Power Tool

What influence does the landmark status of a neighborhood have on the gentrification of a neighborhood? Well, any involved restoration project needs a power tool.   And in my opinion, landmark status is the ultimate power tool that Bed Stuy residents can use to manage the effects of gentrification and preserve community history.

Gentrification is a hot button issue in our borough.  Real estate values in previously undesireable areas continue to rise, and longtime residents and businesses are forced to look for homes elsewhere.  At the same time, those who can afford to stay are able to enjoy a revitalized neighborhood, usually with an increase in services that encourage residents to stay, invest, and grow. 

Before the recent economic downturn, Bed Stuy was facing some of the consequences of rapid development and gentrification.  During the spring of 2009, when my husband and I were just beginning to look at apartments in Bed Stuy, one developer wanted $500,000 for a less than 1,000 square foot apartment on Dekalb and Throop.  Seemed like every week, new condos were taking the place of abandoned lots and new cafes were opening faster than you could sample their authentic Brooklyn fare.  And the architecture of these new developments?  Not exactly in keeping with the Beaux Arts tradition of the brownstowns Bed Stuy has always been known for, that is for sure. 

Then the bottom fell out of the market.  Within about two months of when we saw the half a million dollar condo, developers were defaulting on loans and  working with local politicians to fill hundreds of completely empty units at much lower prices.  Now, Bed Stuy has one of the highest foreclosure rates in New York. 

Recovery has started in the last six months.  However, developers are not ripping down and building up with same gusto as before.  And now, with the possibility of landmark status, there is a real chance that Bedford Stuyvesant residents will be able to manage the speed and quality of growth in the neighborhood. 

Tomorrow at Restoration Plaza, at 6pm, the New York Landmark Preservation Commission will host a community information meeting on the possible landmarking of four historic districts within Bedford Stuyvesant.  Those four districts are Bedford Corners, The Stuyvesant Heights extension, Stuyvesant East, and Stuyvesant North.  Representatives from the LPC have stated that Bed Stuy resident attendance at this meeting, more than any petition or postcard campaign, will provide evidence of community support of the landmarking effort. 

Life is busy, and this week in particular at our house is a killer.  But I am asking the babysitter to stay late, because Bed Stuy has become my home in the last year as no other placed in NYC has and I want to show the love. I don't want gentrification to be a foregone conclusion, since we are bordered by Park Slope, Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, and Williamsburg.  We have a second chance to keep our neighborhood reflective of its storied history, instead of a bunch of soulless brick and mortar boxes.  As active Bed Stuy residents, we can manage the revitalization of our neighborhood, actively ensuring that new and old residents alike can enjoy the benefits of gentrification.   Come join me. 

Show BIG LOVE for Bed Stuy & Bed Stuy Playgroup BONANZA!

Ok, If you haven't already heard it elsewhere (Bed Stuy Blog, Bed Stuy Patch), the 16th, not Valentine's Day is the day you need to show some love for your neighborhood.  The Landmark Commission Meeting is on Wednesday, February 16th, at 6pm, at Restoration Plaza. 

I will be there, will you?  What are you hoping to hear?  What questions do you want answered? Tommorrow, I will give you a few of mine. If you can't be there, make sure to click here for a way you can show your support without attending the meeting.  

Also, I clearly was looking in all the wrong places for play groups in our nabe.  The response to my question was fabulous, and I really started to feel like isolation was not an option with the friendly comments I recieved.  Just to summarize, so newcomers won't have to read through the comments:

• On Tuesday at the Marcy Library (at Dekalb and Nostrand) there is a storytime at 2pm, and parents and kids hang out afterwards and play.
• On Monday,  Macon library has a story hour at 10:30am.
• The Stuyvesant Heights Parents Association organizes play groups.
• Several moms on Putnam want to organize a playgroup! More to come on a later post.  I am going to investigate some meeting places, and let you all know. 

Thanks to all who wrote in!  All those comments in my first week in the blogosphere really made me excited :)

Going out!

We're steppin' out.   My husband and I are going to a romantic Valentine's event at La Table Exquise, and I have been looking forward to it for a few weeks.   I am not going to lie.... most of my excitement comes from the fact that my sweet beautiful child that I love with all my heart will not be in attendance.  And no matter how many experts say that regular time alone with your spouse is crucial to a happy marriage, I still feel guilty being excited about time away from her.

But this post is not about that guilt really.  That subject has been written about...and I suspect that my feelings (both the guilt and the excitement) are shared by many. No, this post is about finding a babysitter.  Because when you get beyond the guilt, you still want to go out.

The little one will for the first time have a babysitter that is not related to her.  This happened by chance, but the idea of having a plan B for when grandparents can't make it has been on my mind for awhile.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the world has changed a lot since we were the kiddies.  When I was a kid, my parents had a steady stream of dependable, if goofy, teenagers to watch the four of us.  Everyone in the neighborhood knew each other, and when you hired the local teenager, you knew the parent was just a phone call away.

My husband's mother, who grew up in NYC had a different but equally simple solution for finding someone to watch the kids.  She just called a family member who lived on the same street.  And when the family member needed to go someplace,  my mother-in-law would watch their kids.

Now life is different, or at least appears different.  We don't have a family member that lives on the block, and we don't know any of the teenagers (or their parents) on our block.  Every week, parents hear stories of bad babysitters.  Even our previously relaxed parents wondered how we could trust a "total stranger" to watch the little one.  So, now to feel like a responsible parent, modern parents feel the need to use a referral service that screens the sitters. 

My husband and I have decided this isn't necessary for us.  Before we even started to explore the referral services, we met our new babysitter by chance.  We had a chance to see her act responsibly, we met her mother, and we are friends with the gentleman she works for part time.  The little one loves her...so we are going out, and trusting this young woman. 

How do you all find babysitters? I might be able to share mine...I'll let you know :) 

Identity Crisis

I am having an identity crisis.

But this is ok, because so is everyone else.   Just start reading any article about parenting, politics, or Brooklyn for that matter, and this will become readily apparent.  To paint it in broad strokes, humanity is feeling crappy about not knowing which neat little category it belongs in.  We feel crappy about it, because if we could just put ourselves in one little box, we would be clear about what we should do, everyday.

For example, I have been asking myself  "what kind of mom am I?"  Am I a tiger mom or a mom who is devoted to attachment parenting?  Answering yes to one of these would allow me to feel confident about how I deal with the little one. There is a distinct way I should "be" if I am a tiger mom.  Likewise if I am an attached parent.  If I am a little bit of both....well, you see how life gets confusing.

This sort of angst happens with communities as well.  Bedford Stuyvesant is a perfect example at the moment.  Right now, our community as a whole does not fit into any clear category.  We are all at once a transitional area, a neighborhood threatened by gentrification, and a neighborhood excited by the prospect of landmark status.   Although I was not able to attend the Community Board 3 meeting this week (Thanks Bed Stuy Patch for the great coverage!),  it appears the most controversial portion of the evening was an update on a new pedestrian mall planned for Fulton and Marcy.  Although the mall would "showcase local performances, include some trees and other greenery, a possible statue and an art installation", there were many residents at the meeting who wondered why more wasn't being done to bring commerce into that area, and therefore increasing job opportunities.   Identity crisis.

Although the word "crisis" has negative conotations, the reality is that this sort of "crisis" helps us to gain a better understanding of who we are.  We figure out what we really want, what is important, and use that to create our own unique little category. 

When I started this blog, I wasn't sure what my blog's identity would be... would I focus on parenting and life as a working mom?  Would I use the blog as a platform for raising awareness about Bed Stuy activities, issues and people?  Well, I think I have decided that this blog will focus on...both.  Focusing on one would be easy, but I have stuff to say about both.

So, send me your community events, announcements, whatever you think our fair residents should know about.  I commit to posting them when I get them.  And about once a week, expect an entry about raising a little one in Bed Stuy.  Finally, I love to read....so some entries will be reflections on what I have read this week about parenting or Bed Stuy, and links to all the good stuff.  It's going to be messy, but I think it will be interesting!

Brunch at La Table Exquise

Holy deliciousness Batman!  The little one has already eaten her weight in chocolate croissants :)

Bed Stuy Play Group?

Sometimes, watching Baby Einstein or playing with blocks gets old.  Sometimes, you just wanna do something different, you know... shake it up a bit.  This kind of bleh feelng can only be solved by one thing....a playgroup. 

I used to really revolt against the idea of a playgroup.  It seemed so forced, so planned- the opposite of fun.  Unless you have a group of friends with children who live in your neighborhood,  as a parent you have to go make friends with perfect strangers so your kids can make friends.  Don't get me wrong, its totally worth it, but as an introvert of sorts, its always been a struggle for me to reach out like this.

Anyway, my stance on playgroups has changed.  Big time.  Having an active two year old during one of the snowiest winters in years will change how you view things.  But now that I have become a willing participant, there do not seem to be any groups to participate in!  I have spent the last two days looking for playgroups near us, to no avail.  Sure, there are groups in Ft. Greene or Clinton Hill, and apparently there is a new playgroup at Still Hip on Grand Avenue.  But there do not appear to be any groups for Bed Stuy central.

I must be mistaken.  And if I am not mistaken, why don't we have any play groups in Bed Stuy? 

Set me straight or feel free to answer this question from the perspective of a parent, a community member, or an amateur anthropologist. I just need a place to take the child, and soon.

On Saturday, everything is possible!

I am sure that many working parents can relate to this feeling.  The work week is finished, you and your family have had a nice restorative sleep (hopefully), and its 8am on Saturday morning and the whole weekend is stretching out ahead of you.  Anything is possible at this moment.  You CAN clean the house.  You CAN take your child to the Brooklyn Children's Museum.  You CAN do all of the tasks that you have promised yourself that you would do all week, but never got around to doing.  You CAN write that blog post.  Everything is possible at this moment.

So let's ride this feeling as long as it lasts (which won't be long), and take a look at all the great things you could do today:

• The Brooklyn Children's Museum (http://www.brooklynkids.org/) has several interesting events this weekend.  Blooming Babies: The Power of Love, explores how different cultures around the world express love.  The museum is also celebrating the Year of the Rabbit with events exploring Chinese New Year.  Admission is $7.50
•  I know you've heard about the State of the Union, but how about the State of the Borough?  Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz put on quite a show this year, while at the same time outlining his strategic plan for our fair borough.  Read the address here: http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/Pages/State_of_the_Borough/stateoftheborough.htm , and see a piece of the action and the reaction here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWENczPbAgg

Finally, since this morning's post is about possiblities, what do you think is possible for Bedford Stuyvesant in 2011?  Share your hopes and dreams for the nabe in the comments below, and let's get this conversation started!

My favorite place: La Table Exquise

Without question, the food that Chef Sebastien makes in his shop, La Table Exquise, is amazing and addictive.  But the real reason I love the shop is that every time I go into the shop, I meet new people with amazing talents.  I have had the pleasure of meeting graphic artists, photographers, poets, academic intellectuals, painters, and musicians...all while picking up my french pastry fix.  And since this shop has really been my home away from home on the weekends (the child cries for the baguettes), I will be promoting them every chance I get.

Are you looking for a delicious and romantic way to begin your Valentine’s Day weekend? La Table Exquise is hosting a sophisticated Valentine Dessert Tasting on Saturday, February 12th, from 7pm to 10pm, at 370 Tompkins Avenue. Seats for this exclusive event are $45 per person, and include champagne and a full menu of sweet desserts. Reservations can be made at La Table Exquise or by calling (347) 663-6066. Seats are limited for this intimate event, and the guest list will be closed on February 12th, so make your reservations now!

Guests attending the Dessert Tasting will not only enjoy delicious food and a fabulous atmosphere, they will be supporting a small business that has experienced a decline in business during the extremely snowy winter.  In January, concerned community members hosted a very successful fundraiser for the shop, raising over $1,000 to help the shop stay open.  The owners of La Table Exquise are hoping that The Valentine Dessert Tasting, as well as an upcoming events to be held at the end of February, will provide the funds needed to keep the shop in operation.   

Since La Table Exquise opened its doors in 2009, Chef Sebastien has been committed to providing the Bed Stuy community with fresh, sugar-free French pastry.   Chef Sebastien chose to open La Table in Bed Stuy in part because he saw the lack of fresh food options available to the community.  Labeled by the United States Department of Agriculture as a “food desert”, and with one of the highest rates of diabetes in the city, Bedford Stuyvesant was greatly in need of a local business with healthy treats as its focus.  Through a special process using only the freshest fruit, Chef Sebastien is able to create sugar-free pastries that satisfy any sweet tooth.  La Table Exquise offers customers authentic French pastries, quiches, savory sandwiches, baguettes, and a wide selection of teas and coffees shipped directly from Paris.

So support your local business, and stop buy the shop to reserve your seat for the Valentine Dessert Tasting!

1st Post

About a year and a half ago, I moved to Bedford Stuyvesant with my husband and young child.  During this time, I have really come to appreciate my new nabe.  Although it must not be news to longtime residents, Bedford Stuyvesant is one of the most interesting neighborhoods in New York City.  Artists, working class people, professionals, students, musicians, new immigrants, old and storied families all live in this huge section of Brooklyn.  As a writer, the gorgeous architecture and history inspires.  As a mother of a young child, the lack of activities and services for children is frustrating.  Finally, as an individual interested in the revitalization of this community, the potential for growth overwhelms me...in a good way.

There are a few blogs that cover Bedford Stuyvesant, and they all do an amazing job.  Bed Stuy Blog is one of my favorites.  My hope is that I can contribute a new perspective- one of a new neighbor, who wants to show off her new nabe, question why certain things are the way they are, and chat about the best and worst of Bed Stuy.  Hope you will join me.